Unprecedented UN Security Council Sanctions Regime against North Korea: a Prelude to Further Escalation or Detente?

Sanctions are one of the most important tools available to the UN Security Council which facilitate a negotiated settlement of international problems. The Security Council has the exclusive prerogative to impose sanctions on Member States in order to support the legitimate aims set forth in the UN Charter. One example of using such interventions is the sanctions regime against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), imposed by the UN Security Council nearly 10 years ago (14 October 2006).